Our children are negatively affected by the unregulated use of cell phones during school hours. Currently at Mountain Heritage High School they put their phones in a "pocket" on the door during class yet are allowed to get them at all other times during the day. In our Middle and Elementary schools children's phones are not allowed to be seen put away. Out of sight out of mind.

Disconnecting from cell phones during the school day will allow them to focus on the tasks at hand.  Training them to be constantly aware of their cell phones is enabling an addiction. We get cyber bullying, alarming rates of screen time, violation of privacy, altered communication skills, distracted learning, ultimately hindering the full capability of the mind. Phones affect our working memory and fluid learning. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. We know the statistics; we know the research already shows these negative effects and more. They are hurting children in every way possible. Many schools in North Carolina and around the globe are banning phone use on school grounds altogether.

For children phones have become a crutch in every way. Phones have replaced the need to use their own brains. Phones do the work for them. The phones replace the need to communicate face to face. These children hide behind the phone doing and saying things they otherwise wouldn't do or say in person. X-rated content is being shared via apps and messaging. Unsupervised use during school hours gives them access to the internet and social media sites in a setting where nothing of that nature should ever be allowed and is vastly inappropriate. We have to mention the constant borage of fake altered images they are subjected to that are giving a false sense of reality and in turn negative body image.  This unsupervised access fuels ideas to do things they see online that lead only to bad decisions. Once sent and shared you cannot take them back.

All of our school children have chrome books to access computer needs during school hours.

As the adults we have to set the boundaries. Preparing them to be contributing members of society ready for the workforce. Most professions do not allow you to be on your cell phones throughout the day. Teachers and Parents have a harder time getting our children to engage in the present moment. This time will pass them by, and we all know they cannot get it back. Time is our most precious commodity.

I vote to work with the school to be the village that our children deserve and so greatly desire. We need to be in this together. A simple phone call through the office as we have always done to communicate with our children and teachers, so we are all on the same page. Planning ahead for afterschool teaches responsibility and accountability.

My Goal with this petition is that there will be no cell phone use in school buildings, hallways, and throughout the school day. Phones should be out of sight during the school day. Allowing them to have their phones for afterschool functions and to be available to their parents or guardians once they are done with the school day. In the case of emergencies, the phones are in their backpacks which they can easily grab and take with them.

We can't stop the current trend, but we can do our best to assist our children into a life that doesn't revolve around their cell phones. Let's act now! There has already been too much time wasted.